Before George Springer entered the Blue Jays dugout following his go-ahead three-run home run in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series, his teammate greeted him in the top step and helped him put on a blue jacket.
If you’re a new fan, that’s how the Blue Jays celebrate the long ball.
“It makes you feel good,” Springer said on Thursday when asked about the jacket. “It means that you did something cool.”
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Hector “Tito” Lebron, the team’s cultural development coordinator and interpreter, is the person behind the tradition.
He told CTV News Toronto that the jacket started in 2021. Lebron said only a few teams at that time had home run celebrations.
“So why not us? We were leading the league in homers,” he said.
Lebron shared that it was inspired by the green jacket worn by golfers who win the Masters tournament.
“I came up with the idea. I presented it to the players. The players like the idea, and we all designed it,” he said.
The jacket has the team’s logo as well as the names of the countries where the players are from.
“Toronto is a multicultural city. So that’s what we did with the Blue Jays logo around with all the countries,” Lebron said.
“There’s so many people here from different countries living in the city. It’s like the players, the organization showing their support to all the fans, to the entire city, to the entire country.”
The jacket also has an illustration of Toronto’s skyline with the CN Tower and there is a picture of a ball flying through the roof of the Rogers Centre along with the the word “PLAKATA,” an expression usually used by Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. when he hits a ball out of the park.
Lebron said it’s been great to see that fans have embraced the home run jacket, including some who have made their own version.
“You see that people are very attached to it. You take a look at the stands, and people are actually wearing jackets. They made their own jackets, which is great,” he said.
The Blue Jays and the now-eliminated Seattle Mariners have hit the most home runs this postseason. When asked if there’s “magic” in the jacket that is contributing to the team’s success, Lebron said, “I wouldn’t call it magic.”
He noted that players want to wear it, and the jacket has spurred them to hit a home run.
“It’s more of an incentive,” Lebron said.
He said it also brings positive energy to the clubhouse, as the players also like being the ones to assist the home run hitter in putting the jacket on.
“They can’t wait to put it on whoever hit the homer,” he said.
Lebron confirmed that the jacket is not the same as the one in 2021, as they keep adding things to it every year. The current jacket is the postseason version.
He is hopeful that the jacket will be worn a few times during the World Series.
